Metal band returns love to Clifton super fanatic

Clifton resident Ron Clark, has attended about 225 Metallica concerts since becoming a fan at the age of 13. He is pictured in center at photo on the right surrounded by members of the heavy metal band. Above he is pictured at center, in the front row, during one of the many concerts.

CLIFTON – Rarely are fans afforded the opportunity to become friends with those they idolize but one City fanatic not only had his dreams came true but ultimately received recognition and traveled the world with the band he loves.

By day, Ron Clark is your average Joe. A resident of the Athenia section of Clifton, he owns a custom carpentry company in Nutley and also runs an ATM business in the area.

A devoted Christian, one would never imagine upon passing him on the street, seeing him in church or working with him on a construction project in Paterson that he was a globetrotting heavy metal band enthusiast.

And, he may never have traveled such a path if it wasn't for a stubborn, yet important, musical influence which paved the way for his unexpected journey.

Two decades ago, as an impressionable 13-year-old, Clark said his musical knowledge was limited to "whatever you could listen to with your mother or father" in the car, adding with a laugh that "it was probably girly music."

One day, however, a good friend tossed a CD into his stereo and pressed play. The song was Metallica's "One," an epic, 7-and-a-half-minute track released in 1989 which seesaws between clean and heavily distorted metal riffs.

"He put the disc on repeat, left and took a 35-minute shower," Clark remembers. "At first I was annoyed and hated it but, by the third time, it was alright and, by the fifth time, I was like 'well, I'm a Metallica fan'."

His first time seeing the band perform live came during the "Load" tour in 1996 at Madison Square Garden. Then, he came into tickets for the following night at the Meadowlands.

"We were like 'oh [expletive], you've got us'. I don't do drugs or anything but, for me, seeing them live was a drug," Clark said. "It's one of the things you have to put on your bucket list."

From that day forward he slowly embarked on a mission. Throughout high school and up until his college graduation he worked and saved his money.

"I ate pasta every single night at 75 cents a pop and didn't even have tomato sauce on it," Clark smiled.

In 2003, after receiving his degree in Criminal Justice from CUNY John Jay in Manhattan, he bought a little van, took out the rear seats and installed a bed. The plan was simple: drive to each and every of Metallica's shows during that year's North American tour.

"It was crazy," Clark said.

During one tour date, Limp Bizkit, the opening act of the tour, stopped in the middle of the show and singled out the dedicated fan.

"Dude, how many shows are you going to?" Clark recalled the lead singer, Fred Durst, asking.

"All of them," he responded.

"No way, not all of them," Durst scoffed.

About six months and 80 tour dates later, Clark had stayed true to his word, swimming through the general admission area's mosh pits before settling front row, dead center, every night.

"That was my dream," he said triumphantly. "Even though I wasn't getting much sleep."

Near the end of the "Poor Touring Me" tour, however, the Cliftonite's wildest expectations were exceeded.

Months after starting the tour, and a decade after "One" was forced on his ears, Metallica's founding vocalist and drummer, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, pulled Clark aside.